GEDDES --
Classic cars, rebuilt cars and custom cars all poured into the New York State Fairgrounds on Friday morning from all over the country. The Syracuse Nationals are known as one of the largest car shows on the East Coast - and the cars at this year's show are on pace to break last year's attendance record.
"I mean we're dealing with cars in excess of 7,000. That's a gigantic show," said Bob Canney from Maine. "A lot of smaller shows are 800 to 1,000 around the area. This is one of the largest shows east of the Mississippi."
Organizers expect more than 80,000 people to come out and see everything from concept cars to dealers with any car part you can imagine, and thousands of vintage cars.
"This whole hobby is about cars and it's about people," said Richard Udell from Montana. "It's not about trophies and it's not about money. It's about people that love cars - and the American population does."
It may not be about the money for car fans, but Syracuse-area businesses love the help they get from the Nationals. The event is expected to generate millions in economic activity for the area.
Steve Heller came up from Woodstock, NY for the Nationals and said the show reinforces everything he loves about cars.
"Sometimes you say to yourself, Oh my god what am I doing? I'm spending so much time and so much money on my car and I should be doing this and then you come to a car show like this and you see a thousand other guys who make you look like nothing. They've spent so much time. I love that."
